Anche Libero va bene

Italy

Synopsis

Two young children and their father form a strangely united and courageous family after being abandoned by the most important woman in their lives, their mother and wife. Yet, in all the awkward family's bungling imperfections, good intentions, desperate humanity, inconsolable loneliness, fury of emotions sometimes hurtful and cruel, the unspoken lesson of the importance of loving "well" has kept their bond strong and alive. For eleven-year-old Tommy, his family is his sister Viola, at times a merciless bully, and his father Renato, a seemingly harsh and unjust disciplinarian, yet perhaps only to better conceal a real tenderness for his family. For the three, an almost routine peace has settled over their motherless home. That is, until Stefania's sudden return. Tommy's mother reappears just as recklessly as she had left them, upsetting precarious equilibriums and defenses, churning up buried pain, shattering dreams. Yet Tommy has a secret refuge high above the city. Here dreams can still be nurtured, and the wisdom of the great balancing act of life learned. Over the rooftops, like a magic tightrope walker, he leaps. Tommy spans that vast yet fine line between childhood and manhood. And when, before his innocent gaze the image of his father crumbles shamelessly, Tommy realizes the tremendous fragility of even a father, a grown-up, under the weight of life's suffering. The boy is filled with boundless tenderness. With all the disarming power of a love as uncontainable as it is unconditional, he embraces his father and forgives.
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Kim Rossi Stuart

Written by: Linda Ferri, Federico Starnone, Francesco Giammusso, Kim Rossi Stuart

Cinematography: Stefano Falivene

Cast: Kim Rossi Stuart (Renato), Alessandro Morace (Tommy), Barbora Bobulova (Stefania), Marta Nobili (Viola)

Nominations and Awards

  • Feature Film Selection 2006